The Townsville Crocodiles take on the Adelaide 36ers in the traditional NYE game at The Swamp. Adelaide's Adam Gibson and Crocs' Mirko Djeric. Picture: Evan MorganSource: News Limited

YOUNG guard Mirko Djeric says having 11 players in the Townsville Crocodiles squad means players have to be at their best at all times as the competition for spots rises.

Team high-performance manager Cameron Whiting's illness means the Crocs will travel with 11 players for the first time, allowing coach Shawn Dennis the luxury of not naming his away game match-day roster until after today's shoot-around.

Injuries to Peter Crawford, Djeric, Russell Hinder, Scott Kenny and Josh Pace have meant the Crocs haven't had to single a player out to miss a game as yet.

A back injury for Greg Vanderjagt means Dennis may not have to drop a player even now, but having a full squad on the road means competition among the squad is high, Djeric said.

"There's 11 strong players training for a spot and you need to show who the best 10 are for the game," he said.

"That's much better than having 10 each week. Every session, every minute you've got to be locked in ready to go."

Dennis has welcomed that competition and the luxury of being able to rest a player if they don't travel well.

"We've had Stevie (Markovic) miss two practices through illness and Greg Vanderjagt is really struggling along with a back injury and hasn't been able to really get through a full training session," he said.

"A long plane trip, who knows how he'll pull up?

"It gives us that ability to wait until Friday to pick our final 10 and I think that's important."

Djeric earned praise from Dennis and captain Russell Hinder for his energy off the bench in last week's loss to the Melbourne Tigers, hitting two three-point shots and helping the Crocs claw back a 23-point deficit.

The 18-year-old said that was his goal, to be the spark off the bench, and he felt he was getting back to his best after a month-long stint on the sidelines with a hamstring tear.

"I had the injury and I'm getting back into it now and my confidence is up," he said. "I'm that guy off the bench who wants to give the extra boost and help the team out in that way."

Despite his youth, Djeric had a taste of the difficult nature of playing in Perth last year while at the Wollongong Hawks and said he was looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd once again.

He said his team couldn't be put off by feeling they were 10 men against a crowd of 10,000, and had to stick together and be strong.

"If there's silence in the crowd, we know that's something good for us."